Good not good enough for Dogs

Saturday

ATHENS - By the standards set since Mark Richt arrived in Athens, finishing at 9-4 last season was a down year by any measure.

That says something about how high the bar has been raised under the Georgia coach since 2001.

How many programs wouldn't take three straight wins over ranked teams to end the year and head into the offseason with a bowl victory?

Georgia fans turned their expectations up a few notches after Richt came north from Tallahassee, Fla. Three trips to the Southeastern Conference championship game and two titles in the previous five years will do that to you.

Losing to Kentucky and Vanderbilt like the Bulldogs did last year is something even eternal pessimist Larry Munson probably wouldn't have fathomed.

Now, Georgia is aiming to jump back in the thick of the SEC East title chase and re-establish itself as a contender for BCS and national titles.

"I think we have about as good a shot as anybody," quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "That's the way every team thinks. It's definitely going to be a tough year, we're going to have tough games. We're in the SEC. We're going to have down-to-the-wire games and games against great teams. All that said, I think we've got a good shot."

Changes abound in Year 7 of the Richt era starting with the man up top.

Bobo makes the calls

Richt has handed the play calling to assistant Mike Bobo, the former Georgia quarterback who was promoted to offensive coordinator.

Bobo should have plenty of talent in the backfield with a stable of talented running backs and a more-seasoned Stafford, who cut down on mistakes down the stretch last season and showed that he has the talent that makes NFL scouts drool.

Stafford will work behind an overhauled offensive line slated to have three new starters who have never taken a snap at Georgia, including a freshman left tackle in Trinton Sturdivant.

"Hopefully Stafford's experience will help this line along," Richt said. "I would think a year from now when the line's got experience and he's got experience, you'd think there would be more reason to believe that everything is going to go like clockwork. Maybe it will, maybe it won't this year. Maybe it will midyear. Maybe we'll come out of the cannon hot. I don't know. It's harder to predict what's going to happen because of inexperience."

If Georgia's spring game is any indication, Stafford and company could need to pile on the points.

The defense returns just three starters and must replace defensive ends Charles Johnson and Quentin Moses, first-day NFL draft picks, and cornerback Paul Oliver, who became academically ineligible this spring.

Even Richt understood why Georgia was picked to finish third in the SEC by the media.

"If you judge by what happened, who we're losing, I can see why people are putting us there," Richt said.

Struggles in the East

Georgia went a humbling 1-4 against SEC East opponents last year and even with its late season flourish ended the year ranked outside of the top 25 in the coaches' poll.

"We learned you have to go into every game thinking, 'Hey, they're coming to take what you have,'" safety Kelin Johnson said. "We learned if you don't prepare every week, every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday like it's your last, you're going to lose on Saturday. We've been embarrassed. We know we can't go that route again."

Georgia, which begins the season ranked 13th in the coaches' and AP poll, could still be a year away from being mentioned as a possible national title contender.

The Bulldogs didn't have a single player picked preseason first-team All-SEC by the media, but this year will be able to tap into talent from highly regarded signing classes the past several years.

Players who were redshirted last year will be counted on to be playmakers, including tailback Knowshon Moreno and safety Reshad Jones. Georgia's defense should be faster all over the field.

As always, Florida is a rather large impediment that stands in the way.

"Somehow we've been able to lose to Florida and win the Southeastern Conference twice," Richt said. "I don't think that we'll have that luxury anymore. I think for us to win the Southeastern Conference we're going to have to beat Florida to do it. That's our plan is to win the Southeastern Conference. If they're in the way, then so be it."

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